Solitude
by Saissa
Summary: This is a prequel to a story published by VIDZ, called COLD. This is the story of what really happened between Harm and Loren during those 5 days in that abandoned cabin after the snow storm
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note - This is a prequel to the story COLD written by VIDZ. In that story, he drafted out a backstory of how Harm and Loren got together - 5 days in an abandoned cabin during a snow storm. With his blessing, I decided to write the details of what happened during those 5 days.**

**This is my very first fic although I have been here at FF reading for the last 2 years. The more JAG stories I have read here - especially those written by VIDZ and Bryhthelm - the more I have lost my liking for Sarah Mackenzie and now I am a firm Harm/Loren shipper. Which is why my first fic attempt is a Harm/Loren story. **

**I would like to say Thank you for Bryhthelm for being my BETA reader.**

**Disclaimer: These characters are not mine – although, like everyone else, I do wish they were. They belong to CBS, Don Bellisario, Paramount, and whoever else holds the rights. They also belong to the actors who portray these characters, namely David James Elliot and his wife Nanci Chambers. **

**Prologue**

**Location – NAS Pensacola, Florida**

"Chegwidden!" the voice growled into the telephone.

"Rabb here, sir. Just keeping you up to date. Lieutenant Singer and I have closed the Dawson case. No charges will be levelled against Corporal Dawson. It was a case of mistaken identity and the real culprit turned out to be a civilian who looks a bit like Dawson. We will fax you our report in a few minutes."

"Excellent Commander," growled Chegwidden. "You and Singer can take the next 2 days off and I expect to see you both at staff call on Monday at 0800. Understood, Commander?"

"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir."

Since the timing was right at the end of the Christmas vacation in January, Harm was unable to find any military transport plane flying north from Pensacola. He tried to get seats on a commercial flight, but with thousands of families all returning home at the end of the Christmas vacation, Harm was unable to find any spare seats, only stand-by seats were available.

After discussing their options with Loren, they decided against wasting their unexpected time off by sitting around the airport on the off-chance of getting a pair of seats, and agreed to rent a car, and drive back to Falls Church. After all, they had four days, so there was no rush.

_AN – I know this is short but it's just to set the scene _


	2. Chapter 2

**Day 1 – Thursday**

Early the next morning, Harm and Loren were packed up, had settled their accounts with the VOQ and were on the road heading north by 0900. The plan was to take their time and get back to DC within three days and have the Sunday to recover before the new work week began.

It was a glorious sunny but cold day in January and Harm was driving. He and Singer had confined any conversation pretty much to business and professional areas only during the investigation, and while the case was still being investigated, had not spent any personal time together. But now that the case was closed, they had three days together away from the Bullpen and away from the scuttlebutt and office politics – an excellent opportunity Harm thought, to perhaps unravel the enigma that was Loren Singer.

By lunch time, the road had climbed into the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains and the views of the magnificent scenery that unfolded with every turn in the road had Loren exclaiming in a combination of rapture and regret.

"Oh, I wish I had my camera with me. These are gorgeous views" she gasped as she looked out the window.

"Perhaps we can stop at the next town and purchase a disposable camera for you," Harm suggested.

"Yes, please. That is a great idea." Loren smiled, digging through her purse looking for her wallet.

Harm could not stop a small smile from crossing his face. He had never seen or heard Loren so excited before. She had relaxed and opened up quite considerably during the six days of this investigation, losing the pinched expression and the button-mouthed pout that her co-workers at Falls Church had come to consider her usual facial expression.

With her blue eyes sparkling, her hair down, and no pressure from the office, Loren was a totally different person from the "Lieutenant Witch" that everyone else insisted on labelling her.

"I take it you like photography?" Harm asked.

"I love it. It's been a hobby of mine since high school. I love taking nature photos, both macro and micro."

Harm frowned. "Macro and Micro?" he asked. He had only heard of those terms in connection with Economics.

Loren turned her head and grinned at Harm. "Sorry, Commander. I keep forgetting. Macro is a wide view photo - such as a landscape photo. It covers a large area. Micro is where one zooms down to the smallest possible lens aperture and shortest lens focus. It can be used to take a photo of one water drop, or one flower or one insect."

Loren took the opportunity during their lunch stop to buy not the one disposable camera that Harm had suggested, but two of them. "These are not going to take the best photos," Loren said with a shrug, "but they will remind me of this trip. I have never driven this route before," she added in explanation.

Loren insisted on taking a photo of Harmon outside the local post office, and then had him take a photo of her. Then she totally blew him away by asking a stranger to take a photo of the two of them standing close together, but not quite touching.

As they got underway after their lunch break, the sun disappeared behind some clouds and the temperature dropped. Harm continued to drive. He turned on the radio but was unable to get any good station reception.

Within hours a heavy rain had started and as the temperature continued to drop, the rain turned to hail and frozen rain and sleet. Harm was forced to slow down and drive carefully. He had planned to be in the Carolinas by the end of the first day of driving but by dinner time, they were still in Georgia, somewhere north east of Atlanta.

At 9 pm - after almost 12 hours of driving, both Harmon and Loren were becoming sleepy. Then came a patch of black ice on the road and they were rudely awoken by a rush of adrenalin as the car skidded off the road, and down the side of the hill, the sliding vehicle eventually stopped as it slammed into a tree.

Fortunately both officers had had their seatbelts on, but that didn't stop them from being thrown around - against the roof and the doors. Loren screamed as she felt, and it seemed heard, her right arm break as it impacted against the door handle. Harm was more fortunate and apart from a bang on the head which knocked him unconscious for a while, received only scratches and bruises.

Since there was no guardrail on the road for them to break, and the snow continued unabated, the fresh fall quickly covered up any signs of the accident.


	3. Chapter 3

**Day 2 – Friday**

Harm groaned as he opened his eyes. He put his hands to his head and wondered why he had such a bad headache, then as his thoughts cleared he realised that the headache and incipient nausea were familiar symptoms. He had experienced them before – not least after his two falls on the de-commissioned _USS Hornet_. At that memory he grimaced, if he had a concussion, he could expect up to about twenty-four hours of disorientation and blurred vision, but somehow, he didn't think he'd be allowed the luxury of indulging in those symptoms.

OK then, he wouldn't have a concussion; he'd just have to suck it up instead. So pushing aside all thoughts of headaches and sickness, he concentrated on his immediate needs and the first thing he needed to do was to take stock of the situation. As he looked up, all he could see through the windscreen was white. It was covered with snow.

The car was poised at a funny angle, facing down-hill, it's position jarred his mind to an almost functional state and Harmon was shocked back into the present with a memory of the car going off the road the previous evening.

"Loren!", he gasped as he looked to his right to check on his passenger. He gently put his fingers to her neck and was very relieved to feel a steady pulse. He vaguely remembered her screaming and looked her over. He couldn't see anything obviously wrong but her right arm did look bruised and swollen.

Not being able to see outside, Harm tried to wind the window down, but even just a few millimetres were enough that he could feel the cold air, but there seemed to be no wind. He could not see any sunshine either.

Harm knew the importance of trying to keep warm. He found the keys still in the ignition and tried to turn the engine on. No joy. He eventually came up with a logical reason. If the lights had been on when the car left the road, and they stayed on, then the lights would have drained the battery leaving the car useless.

The next thing to do was to ascertain Loren's injuries. She did not appear to be bleeding. As he felt her neck again to feel her pulse, she began groaning and her eyelids started fluttering, and then her groans increased in intensity as the pain of her arm completed her awakening.

"Thank God, Loren, are you ok?" Harm asked.

"Oh, God, my arm. I can't lift it. It hurts. I think I may have broken it." she moaned.

"Yes, I know. But apart from that, are you ok? Do you have any injuries anywhere else?"

"A few scratches but nothing else that I can see or feel." she reported. "Commander, where are we? What happened?"

"We seem to have run off the road. While it was snowing last night. Probably hit some black ice. The bad news is that the car battery is dead. Which means we will have to find someplace else to stay warm. This car is going to become an icebox soon."

Harm rifled through the first aid kit looking for a bandage to strap up Loren's swollen arm. It was a long and painful session for both of them. Loren didn't scream, but she moaned frequently. Harm had to wrap the arm up tightly to give it some support. He also had to make a sling to support her arm. And because it was her right arm, and Loren was right handed - well, you get the picture.

Harm managed to open the door, stepped out and stood up. It had stopped snowing, for now, but it was still cloudy. All he could see was snow and more snow. But there was an angled roof with a chimney down at the bottom of the hill.

"Loren, we need to take our stuff and climb down there. If we stay here, we will freeze to death. My cell phone does not work. Probably no cell phone towers up here. There is what looks like a cabin down there with a chimney. Hopefully it's a place where we can stay warm. We are not expected back at JAG until Monday. So no one will be looking for us until then and today is Friday. So we need to get you down to that cabin, and then I can come back and get our bags and the food. I will have to make several trips, but first I need to help you climb down to that cabin."

Loren nodded. Despite having always been independent, right now, she was in no condition to refuse any help and she knew it. So Harm slowly helped her out of the car, and together they slowly made their way down the hillside to the cabin. Harm carried her sea-bag on his shoulders.

The climb down was slow and laborious but within an hour, Loren was at the bottom and standing outside the cabin doors. She found a couple of hair pins in her sea-bag, and Harm had used them to pick the lock. It was a relief to them both when the door was finally opened.

The cabin consisted of two large rooms, one with a large double bed, good mattress and two pillows, but no sheets or blankets. The other room had a couch, a table, some chairs and a fireplace with a stack of dry logs piled up next to the chimney-breast.

A hand pump stood at one corner overlooking a tub. Harm pumped the handle a few times and clean clear cold water dribbled out. He tasted it and declared it to be pretty good water for well water. In a cupboard, he found a pile of old newspapers, and a box of matches. There was no food in any of the cupboards, but he did find some pots and pans and an old tea kettle.

Harm was relieved, "At least we have clean water and can light a fire to stay warm. I just need to go back up to the car and get my sea-bag and the food, and anything else I can find."

He dumped Loren's sea-bag in the bedroom. Loren moved to the bed and just moaned as she sat down and then lowered herself down on her back. She was asleep in seconds, her broken arm still in its sling, resting on her stomach.

Harm carefully removed her sneakers. He was a little worried about her, but the pain of climbing down had taken its toll on her. He did not want to leave her but he had no choice. He had to get the rest of their belongings from the car.

Harm took another hour to climb back up the hill to the car, and pack everything up. He took his time slowly retracing his steps as he climbed back down to the cabin. It would not do for him to get off balance and take a tumble in an environment where he could so easily be injured. He was laden down with his sea-bag as well as the bags of snacks, the first aid kit, a flashlight and a blanket.

Once back in the cabin, he inventoried the food. Before leaving Pensacola, he had stocked up with lots of snacks and other foods he might have needed to stay awake while he was driving.

Fortunately he had also purchased plastic cutlery and some plastic plates and bowls. He was pleased to discover that they had:

Several bags of Dried Fruit - (apricots, bananas, papaya, pineapple, mango, raisins and sultanas)

Several boxes of granola bars

Several bottles of Yoghurt

Several bars of chocolate

One large bag of Trail mix

One box of breakfast cereal

One bag of milk powder

One large pack of baked corn chips

One large bag of baked tortilla chips

One bag of apples

One tin of hot chocolate powder

One jar of instant coffee

2 thermos flasks - to drink coffee and hot chocolate from.

"At least the food situation is not as desperate as I first thought", Harm thought to himself. "The yoghurt does need to be eaten first. We even have cereal and milk for breakfast. But there is definitely enough to last us for several days."

He went about placing the food in the cupboards, and the plastic cutlery and plates/bowls on the shelves.

Normally neither Loren nor Harm would touch instant coffee, but right now, it was the only source of caffeine they had.

He also set about placing some paper and wood in the fireplace to start a fire. Soon a warm fire was flickering. He filled up the kettle with water and put it on the fire to boil up some water.

Moving into the bedroom, he placed the blanket over top of Loren as she slept. He noted that she frowned and moaned every so often. He decided to see if he could find something to use as a splint for the arm to give it more support.

While the fire was warming up the cabin, Harm went for a quick walk around the outside of the cabin. He found the toilet was an outhouse a few metres away from the main cabin. He also found a good size pile of wood logs and some smaller branches that could be used for kindling. He found two stout twigs that could be used for splints and took them back inside.

After making himself a quick snack of yogurt and an apple, Harm sat down to think about their situation.

Loren had broken her arm. That in itself was not life threatening, but their situation - just the two of them being stuck out here (wherever here was) in a cabin without any modern appliances and conveniences - meant that normal actions would be twice as hard (if not three times harder) for Loren to accomplish.

She would be pretty helpless as she could no longer do most things that one does automatically with one's dominant hand. She couldn't write, couldn't shake hands, couldn't salute, couldn't dress herself. She would also not be able to go the bathroom without his help. She would need help to clean and wipe herself down afterwards. Yes this was a very intimate, personal private activity, but it was a fact that would have to be dealt with. Loren was certainly not going to like it.

Harm went red in the face just thinking about having to clean her up like a baby. But out here in the wilderness and in the outhouse, she would have no choice. And since there was no toilet paper, they would have to use either grass or some of that precious newspaper.

As for dressing her - everyone needs two hands to put on underwear, socks, pantyhose, shirts, trousers and brassieres. Loren no longer had 2 hands. Harm was probably going to have to dress her as well.

Harm sat on the couch staring into the fire thinking about Loren and their situation. While she had an ice cold reputation and had stated that she wanted to be the first female JAG - she was still a good lawyer with the potential to become a much better one. She did her research well; she was an excellent investigator and she stayed out of office politics - just choosing to not make any friends. However in a small, closed and even polarised environment such as JAG that option was not 'acceptable'. One either ran with the hare, or hunted with the hounds.

Loren's aloofness had been twisted into something it really wasn't, into malice. Colonel Mackenzie had possibly been the first to force the connection and had given Loren the label Lieutenant Witch and now everyone else used it.

Harm did not like derogatory labels applied to anyone with names, and discouraged others from referring to Loren as Lieutenant Witch whenever he heard the name being mentioned - not that his warnings stopped anyone. But Harm had recognised another survivor in Loren Singer. Like Harm, Loren too had put up emotional walls to prevent herself from being hurt - just as he did, and the hurtful labels aimed in her direction only caused the walls to become thicker and higher and more impenetrable.

Musing on the mystery of Loren Singer, Harm lay down on the couch and fell asleep.

Several hours later he woke up with a jerk.

"What, wha-?" he groaned as he was jerked awake. Then came the sound again. A loud moan - Help - coming from the bedroom.

Harm pushed himself up from the couch and moved into the bedroom. Loren's blue eyes filled with relief as she stared at him, and she smiled. "Thank god, you're here. I thought I was dreaming."

"How are you feeling, Loren?" Harm asked.

"My arm hurts so bad. I can't lift it, I can't even seem to get up. Can you help me to get up, please?"

Harm grasped her left arm and gently pulled her to a sitting position. Then he lifted her legs at the knees, and swung them around so she was sitting correctly on the edge of the bed.

Then came the dreaded words, "I need to go the bathroom. Is there a toilet around here?"

Harm could not help it. His face went red. "There is an outhouse separate from the cabin but I have to warn you, it is just a hole in the ground although there is a seat. No TP though. I'll show you where it is. I know this is going to be embarrassing but if you need me to help you with anything, please let me know."

Loren frowned, and nodded. But as she was looking downwards, she realised that there were no shoes on her feet.

"What happened to my shoes?" she asked. "I guess you are going to have to tie them for me as I can't manage them one handed."

Harm put her sneakers on her feet and tied the shoelaces, then stood back, giving Loren room to stand.

She pushed herself up from the bed with her left hand and moved to the door. Harm led her outside and around the cabin to the outhouse, where, red-faced, he handed her a folded up piece of newspaper.

"If you have any trouble, let me know."

"I don't need you to clean me up like a baby," she snapped. "I can clean myself up, you know!"

"Yes I know, but just in case..." Harms voice trailed off as he went red again. "God, this is embarrassing" he thought.

After a few minutes, Loren's voice called out. "Harm? Are you still there?"

"Yes, Loren."

"God this is so embarrassing, but I need your help."

Harm slowly opened the door, not knowing what to expect. Loren stood there with her jeans down around her knees.

"I can't pull my jeans up, nor can I do up the fly", she whispered, her face flaming crimson.

Harm stepped up close, bent down, grasped her jeans and pulled them up. He tried to ignore the way her hair smelled, and the way her skin felt against his thumbs as he dragged the jeans up over her hips. Then he had to put one hand down the front of her jeans while the other hand pulled up the zipper and snapped the button into place.

He stepped back with his face all red as well.

"Thank you, Harm" Loren whispered.

He nodded, turned and stumbled out of the outhouse.

Loren followed him out and together they moved back to the cabin.

"You hungry?" Harm asked. "You must be hungry, you haven't eaten."

"Starving actually" Loren sat down on one of the chairs.

"Well we have corn chips, apples, granola bars, chocolate, - things you can eat with one hand pretty easily. Also for drinks we have instant coffee, hot chocolate or water."

Loren chose an apple, a granola bar and some chocolate and a cup of hot chocolate.

Harm set about cutting up an apple for her, unwrapping a granola bar and making a cup of hot chocolate.

Harm helped himself to more yoghurt and another apple, and joined Loren at the table. After they had finished eating, Harm turned to face Loren, mentally running through the points he felt they needed to discuss.

"First off, I need to check and rebandage your arm. I have a couple of pieces of split wood I want to use as a splint, so when I unwrap the bandage, I need for you to try and straighten the arm as much as you can, so I can splint it and then re-bandage it. I'm sorry Loren, but this going to hurt, and the only pain meds we have in the first aid kit are Tylenol and Midol. Do you want some Tylenol before we start?"

Loren, already pale at the prospect of more pain, nodded and gratefully accepting the two pain pills, swallowed them and braced herself for what was to come.

Harm set about unbandaging and splinting Loren's arm. He had to take his time and work slowly in order to not knock the arm by accident, because the slightest jarring of her arm left Loren gasping in pain. Despite Harm's care, Loren's moans of pain were almost non-stop by the time by the time he had finished but at least now the arm had a splint of sorts on it. He carefully hung a new sling around her neck and she gave a loud sigh of relief as her arm finally got some support.

Harm took a deep shuddering breath as he let the tension flow out of his body, and wiped the nervous sweat from his forehead and managed a shaky grin as he and Loren sat silently for a few seconds just looking each other.

Then Harm spoke, "This is our situation. Your broken arm, and your footwear, means we cannot just hike out of here, which is what I would be suggesting if we were both able bodied people or if I was on my own. We are not expected back at JAG until Monday morning, so as of right now, NO ONE is looking for us and they won't be looking until Monday. My cell phone doesn't work. Yours probably won't either. Most likely no cell phone towers. The battery on the car was drained and of course we have no way of getting the car back up on the road.

"Right now we are warm and we are dry. We have food, water, fire, and a toilet; so while things are pretty basic, they also meet our immediate needs for survival. Our best bet is to stay here. Tomorrow I will lay out an SOS on the snow outside with some ashes from the fire, And for a change the snow will work in our favour, the white snow will make a high contrast background for the ash, so it should be seen quite easily."

While he'd been speaking, Loren had begun to frown and by the time he'd finished her frown had become more pronounced and it was clear that she was not very happy.

Do you want to add, anything, Loren?" Harm looked at Loren.

"No sir". Loren was slumped in her chair. "I am sorry for being such a bother, sir."

"Loren! Look at me!" Harm snapped it out like an order.

Loren raised her eyes automatically - and Harm smiled.

"This is NOT your fault. We don't control the weather. If it is anyone's fault, it's probably mine for not stopping earlier. But no, I had to keep driving. That was a stupid, dumbass mistake on my part, and one I won't be making again.

"Another thing, there are no ranks here. So please do NOT call me sir or Commander. We need to cooperate in order for us both to survive. I would prefer that you call me Harm. And I would like to call you Loren. OK?"

He raised an eyebrow and got a single nod in return. "Good. Now I know you are a very independent person, but I need to know that you will ask me for help rather than try to struggle on your own. Loren? Loren?"

Loren's eyes were already drifting closed, so Harm helped her up out her of the chair and back to the bedroom. As she sat down, she tumbled to one side and was asleep in seconds.

For the second time that day, Harm removed her shoes, and lifted her legs to lay her flat on the bed. He covered her up with the blanket and then stood there watching her.

With her blonde hair flowing across the pillow, Loren was actually a beautiful and very attractive young woman. But her habit of keeping her hair in a bun meant that others never got the chance to see it.

Checking his watch, Harm was surprised to find that it was already 1900 hours. Where had the day gone? He mentally checked back over all that he had done. Moved Loren from the car to the cabin, then gone back to get the food, blankets and his sea-bag, set up home in the cabin, had a sleep, taken Loren to the outhouse, rebandaged her arm, ate a dinner of sorts, and now briefly talked about their situation. These activities had all taken up time. Harm too felt tired. With so much to do, and with Loren to take care of, he had ignored – or rather tried to fight off - the effects of the concussion he received, but now those effects were beginning to make themselves felt and he too needed to sleep.

Harm debated whether or not to sleep on the couch, but decided to sleep on the bed. Since Loren had been upset when she woke up earlier that afternoon, with no one else around, it would probably be more comforting for her to know that he was there.

Harm cleared away the remains of the meal, went to the outhouse for his own needs and banked the fire so that it would die down - he would need to have cold ashes tomorrow to make an SOS sign. He checked that the outside door was locked and secure, removed his boots and then went to lie down on the double bed next to Loren. He was asleep within minutes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Day 3 – Saturday**

_AN – Some mentions of adult and medical themes in this chapter_

It was the cold that woke Harm up. He had a whole lot of warmth on his front, and a whole lot of cold down his back, despite the fact that he was still wearing his clothes from the day before. He lifted his left arm to check his watch - which showed the time as being 0415.

Looking down to his chest, he was surprised to see a head of blonde hair disappearing under a blanket tucked in tight against his chest. It seems that the rumour was true. When there was a female and a male sleeping in the same bed - their bodies would automatically seek warmth together.

Having now woken up, Harm had to make a nocturnal visit to the little boys room, so he carefully tried to remove his right arm as Loren's pillow.

"Wassssa madda, 'arm?" Loren mumbled.

"I really need to go, Loren," he whispered as he continued to get his arm loose. She lifted her head briefly to allow him to pull his arm out. "Thank you" he whispered as he removed himself from the bed, and headed out for an early visit to the outhouse. Having found his boots and the flashlight, he didn't take long to complete his business.

Back in the cabin, he locked up the door again, removed his boots and got back into the bed. Loren moved over to huddle close to him, despite the fact that she was well wrapped in the blanket. Truth be told, Harm was feeling cold without that blanket, and there was only one blanket. He did not want to wrap his arms around her - that was against the frat regs. So he had to place his right arm up over his head and the left arm down his side, and despite the slight discomfort of his position It didn't take him long to drop off to sleep again.

At 0530 Harm was woken up again by a loud groan. This time Loren was the one moving and groaning.

Harm slipped out of bed again to get more pain pills from the first aid kit as well as a cup of water. Back in the bedroom, he was gently shaking Loren half awake, and encouraging her to swallow a pill, and then some water, then the second pill and some more water. Harm took the cup back onto the main room and then returned to the bed.

This time silence reigned until Harm woke up again at 0830. Once again Loren's body was plastered up against his front well wrapped in the blanket and Harm's back was cold.

The sun was just beginning to shine above the valley walls and Harm could hear some birds singing in the trees outside when the silence was broken.

"Oh my god. Harm, I am so sorry. I should not be plastered up against you like this." Loren immediately tried to move her body away - but with one arm out of action, she was unable to accomplish this easily. She certainly couldn't just roll away - that would have meant rolling onto her broken arm and that was a major no-no.

Harm managed a grin, not one of his mega-watt efforts, but a nervous, almost shy attempt at a smile, "It's OK, Loren. Don't worry about it. I won't say anything if you don't. It was pretty cold and it is perfectly natural for humans to huddle together for warmth," he said as he swung himself up and off the bed.

"Anyway, good morning Loren. How did you sleep? How are you feeling? How is your arm? What would you like for breakfast. I can offer you cereal, apples, chocolate, corn chips, yoghurt and granola bars. Hot chocolate, coffee or water to drink - although it will take a bit of time for the water to boil..." Harm realised that he was babbling and allowed his voice to trail off onto silence.

Loren frowned. "Are you nervous, Harm?"

"What? Me? No, of course not..." Harm's voice faded away for the second time before he made a recovery. "Well. OK. Maybe. A little."

"Can I ask why?"

"It's been a while since I last woke up with a woman in bed with me. That would be Renee. I have kind of gotten used to having my bed to myself."

Loren nodded, "I slept quite well, thank you. Although, did you give me something for my pain? I vaguely remember you giving me some pills and water? "

Harm nodded. "Yes, you were groaning and it had been more than 8 hours since the last lot of pain pills, so I gave you some more. That was around 0530."

Loren smiled. "No wonder I feel so good right now. Thank you Harm. Now I'm going to need some help please; I really need to change these clothes. Fortunately I did a load of laundry at the VOQ the night before we left, so I have some clean clothes. Then I will gladly have some cereal for breakfast." She paused before concluding a bit breathlessly, "And I need to go to the toilet too."

Harm helped Loren up from the bed, and waited while she gathered an armload of clean clothes.

Putting on their shoes, they walked to the outhouse where Loren did her business and tried her best to get dressed. Since she had chosen to wear a blouse and a skirt, she really only needed Harm's help to do up her bra at the back, button her blouse and then zip up her skirt.

By 0900 they were back inside the cabin and Harm was laying out bowls and filling them with cereal, using the thermos flask, he made up some milk and together they sat down and ate.

After breakfast Loren sat down on the couch while Harm started filling a plastic bag with the cold ashes from the fire.

"I'm going to go out into the open area by the creek and stamp out the letters S-O-S in the snow, plus an arrow pointing to this cabin. If I have room, I'll try and add the letters J-A-G as well. I'd like to add some black ashes just to make the letters stand out.

"When the admiral starts looking for us, they'll only know that we are travelling between Pensacola and DC. There are any number of routes we could have followed so we need to do whatever we can to make ourselves visible. When I get back from doing that, we can talk."

"Talk about what, Harm?"

"I dunno. Maybe get to know each other a little better?"

Harm finished filling his bag with ashes, and disappeared outside to make the SOS sign.

Loren stayed on the couch thinking about the situation.

_As Harm had said the previous night, it was not her fault she had a broken arm. It was also not her fault that she had huddled up against him in the bed - there was only one bed and she had the blanket. He was very definitely a gentleman. But then he had always been a gentleman._

Loren had watched Harm at the JAG office, noting the fights and arguments between himself and Colonel Mackenzie. She recognized the signs of an alcoholic in Mackenzie and knew that she was trying to keep Harm under her control.

Loren had watched Mac and was fully aware of the hated name Mac had devised for her. She kept a running tally of every person who did and who did not use that name when referring to herself. It had been a complete surprise to discover that Harm was really the only person other than the Admiral, who never used the name of Lieutenant Witch to refer to her. Harm and the Admiral both always called her Lieutenant Singer.

It was also pleasing to discover that whenever she caught Harm's eye, he always had a smile and a 'G_ood morning (or Good afternoon) Lieutenant'_ for her as she passed by. Everyone else either avoided her as if she had the plague or spoke as little as possible if they did have to communicate with her.

Loren was aware that some of her actions were responsible for this cold chill and lack of respect. But not all of her actions, surely.

She had stated that she wanted to be the first female JAG. She was sure that it had been a mistake to make that declaration out loud. Now she was being isolated because of it.

Loren sighed. _Her only target now was to work well and earn her next promotion from Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander. The sooner she could be promoted and gain some seniority, the better._

_She still wanted to be the first female JAG, but maybe she needed to aim for a slightly lower goal for now. Maybe Fleet JAG would be something good to aim for - that usually meant an overseas posting and right now, getting away from JAG HQ was first and foremost on her mind. Only - that would also mean being away from Harm._

_The only thing making life bearable at JAG HQ was the presence of Commander Harmon Rabb. He was the only person who treated her with respect and who smiled at her. While he didn't stop to chat and pass the time of day with her, he at least did not completely ignore her like Mackenzie, Roberts and Simms did._

Loren had to admit to herself, that if she was transferred away from HQ, she would miss Harmon a lot - on a personal as well as professional level.

That brought her up short. That's why these last few days in Pensacola had been so wonderful. She had just spent six days on an investigation with Harmon Rabb, and she was now forced to stay with him for another three days unable to go anywhere, and totally reliant on him for survival. As much as she was embarrassed to have him help her, she knew she had no choice.

At least there was an out for Harm under the UCMJ - assisting and giving medical assistance - which was exactly what Rabb was doing. He gave her pain pills, he bandaged and splinted her arm. God knows if she had been by herself, she would not in any way have been able to bandage and splint her own arm.

_God, when he does fall in love, he is going to make some girl a wonderful loving husband._

The thought drifted into Loren's mind and had almost drifted out again before she realised just what she was thinking...

_What? Rabb a loving husband? Well he is. He is attentive, kind, strong, handsome and a real gentleman. Any other man, would not have just pulled her jeans or skirt up and pulled up the zipper, like he did. They would have been trying to pull down her underwear as well and to go all the way. Harm did not do anything like that at all._

Loren was lying on the couch with a smile on her face when Harm came back to the cabin, 2 hours later, stamped his boots against the outside wall to shake off the snow and then removed them from his feet. As he entered the cabin removing his jacket, Loren looked at him from across the room and smiled.

Harm was flabbergasted when Loren looked across the room at him and smiled. That full-on-smile turned her into a gorgeous and beautiful woman. Harm had had no idea that hiding under her sourpuss act was such a beautiful female. Even while they had been conducting their investigation, they had only spoken to each other in a professional and respectful manner, but at least they had spoken, They had not spent any social or personal time together while the investigation was still ongoing.

But right now - right now there was no investigation and all the time spent together was personal. Harm was glad that this had happened. _Well, no, he was not glad that she had broken her arm, but then again, he was glad she had broken her arm, because it meant that he got to help her and look after her and show her what he was like through his actions_.

Harm recognized in Loren the same thing he did in himself. They had both been hurt very badly by careless words flung at them, and thus for them – ACTIONS spoke much louder than words.

Harm hoped that his actions in looking after Loren spoke to her - because now that he knew what a gorgeous woman she truly was, he really did want to get to know her better.

"Well, I made a nice large SOS sign, with an arrow pointing to this cabin. And then I was even able to make a JAG sign underneath. So if anyone is looking for missing JAGs - they should understand the sign. I just hope the snow hangs around long enough for someone to find us, because once it starts melting, then we are going to be in trouble. Anyway, how is your arm, Loren. Are you in any pain"

"I'm actually doing fine for now, thanks Harm. No pain." Loren lifted up her arm to show Harm that she could now move her shoulder relatively freely.

"Good, Good. So I've been wondering. What sort of camera do you use?"

Loren had a quizzical look on her face.

"Your photography. You like to take nature photos - large landscapes and small close up photos, you said. So, do you have one camera to do all of that, or do you have several cameras?"

"I have a Sony DSLR 390/a camera which allows me to cover that entire range of possibilities. Why do you want to know?" Loren asked.

"I've been toying with the idea of maybe taking up photography myself." Harm mumbled.

"Really? What sort of pictures do you think you might like to take? Do you plan on specialising?" Loren couldn't help herself.

"Hold it, Hold it. Power down Loren, please." Harm smiled. "Planes, You know how much I love planes and since I'm too old and too far behind to really make flying my career, I kind of miss not having images of planes around me - especially military planes and my Stearman."

"What's a Stearman?" Loren asked. She vaguely knew that Harm had his own private plane but had no idea what type of plane it was. For all she knew, it was a top-of-the-line Lear jet.

"A Stearman is an old bi-plane from around the time of the first world war. Have you ever seen Snoopy from the Peanuts comic strips?"

Loren nodded her head,

"Well," Harm continued, "whenever Snoopy was pictured pretending to be the Red Baron in world war one, flying a bi-plane, that's what my plane looks like - only mine is yellow. It is the complete opposite to a Tomcat because the Tomcat goes supersonic and the Stearman goes very slow. I love knowing how to fly those 2 extremes."

_Well, at least, now I know it's NOT a Lear jet._

"Loren, do you like flying? Are you comfortable in a small plane?" Harm asked.

"Um, yes to the first and I have no idea to the second. Why?

"Well, I was wondering, when we get out of this-"

Loren opened her mouth to say If.

Harm frowned, held up a finger and continued speaking "WHEN we get out of this and get home, maybe you can take some photos of me and my Stearman. And I'd like to give you a ride in the Stearman in exchange?"

Loren blushed. "I'd like that very much, Harm, Thank you."

After a few minutes of comfortable silence she spoke again

"Harm?"

"Yes Loren"

"I've heard some really weird stories of things that you are supposed to have done. Did you really do them?"

"That depends. What sort of things?" Harm grinned.

"Firing an automatic weapon in the courtroom?" Loren asked with a dubious look on her face.

"Yes, I did that. I was trying to make a point."

"A point about what?"

"I was trying to prove that weapons don't just go off accidentally. My Client said his weapon went off accidentally and a sailor died. It turned out that the sailor committed suicide by deliberately jumping in front of the gun after he was diagnosed with HIV and AIDS." Harm's face was somber.

"And what repercussions did you suffer?"

"I had to spend the next 4 months paying for repairs to the ceiling. Cost me $2000 bucks."

"But Colonel Mackenzie says there are still bullets in the ceiling."

"I wouldn't know anything about that. You'll have to ask Admiral Morris. It was his courtroom. I only know that I had to pay for the repairs. I have no idea if they were done or not. So, what else have you heard about me?"

"Umm, something about a tailhook and a DFC?" Loren had a sceptical look on her face and lifted another eyebrow.

"Yes, while I was flying over Bosnia, my wingman Tuna's plane was damaged. I told him to drop his tailhook, and I used that against my plane's canopy to push his plane out of enemy airspace before he and his RIO needed to eject. They claimed it was worthy of a DFC." Harm blushed.

"Some people might claim those are really crazy stunts to do? Just why do you go so far?"

Harm shrugged.

"It makes life interesting." he muttered.

"So why are you not flying any more?" Loren was genuinely curious.

"Well, I had to stop flying due to my eyes, and then when I discovered that my eyes weren't the problems, I found I had left it too long to get back into flying and I was too far behind to catch up so I had to stop again."

Loren heard the hiccup in Harm's voice as he expressed his sadness about being forced to give up his dreams.

"So what is the story with your eyes, and your flying - if I'm allowed to ask?"

"Well the short story is that after I graduated from the academy, I went to flight school and then was sent to the carriers to fly. My RIO's name was Mace. One evening we were returning from a patrol when my eyes suddenly got blurry and I couldn't see the carrier clearly. It was dark, it was stormy and we had a pitching deck to contend with. I was slightly under the glide path all the way down and was almost on top of the carrier when my RIO Mace, got scared and grabbed the eject handle - he made that decision, not me. We were both ejected from the plane.

"But because we were too low neither of our chutes fully deployed before we hit the deck. Mace died on impact; I also hit the deck, but suffered a lot of injuries. I spent a year in recovery and then another 6 months in solitude trying to decide what my future role in the navy should be. I liked the lawyer who defended me so I went to Georgetown law school and became a lawyer.

Some years later I discovered that my eyes were fine. The blurriness I had experienced was the result of an infection, not an injury. So I changed my designator and asked to go back to flying. I had been forced to walk away before. Now I wanted the chance to walk away on my own. I spent one year flying but it was already too late. I had been away too long and would not be able to catch up with the number of traps or the hours I needed to keep my seniority. I do my flight quals every 6 months now just to keep my flying status current but I am still a lawyer."

Loren decided to risk asking one more question - "And Colonel Mackenzie?" she asked quietly.

"I fell in love with her the day we met, on her first day at JAG at the White House Rose Garden. But later, as we grew closer, she insisted on trying to control me, on trying to force me tell her how I felt first before she would say anything. At one point, she even told me NEVER and that there was no us, so after Paraguay when she didn't even say thank you for saving her life, I decided that it was time to let go. I… I don't find it easy to talk about my feelings… so I prefer to let my actions speak for me."

Harm's face was calm and his eyes were clear and reflective as he spoke, but Loren knew he was telling the truth.

Harm shook his head, looked Loren full in the eyes and grinned his flyboy grin. "OK, that's enough about me. Let's have some lunch and then you can tell me all about you."

After a quick lunch of corn and tortilla chips, and granola bars, washed down with water, Loren and Harm made themselves comfortable on the couch.

"My story isn't much. I'm not sure it is anywhere near as interesting as yours." Loren murmured.

"Well," said Harm gently. "Let me tell you what I know of you so far and you can fill in the gaps, ok?"

Loren nodded.

"You are gorgeous, very smart, a tenacious researcher, interesting and intriguing, a quick study, and you love wearing fashionable clothes. You don't trust easily at all; your trust has to be earned, but even so, you have been hurt by the careless words of others. Either they said things that were hurtful to you or they made promises and didn't keep them. Consequently, you don't trust the spoken word any more, preferring to trust actions, believing in the old adage that actions speak louder than words.

Yet I see you flinch every time you hear the words 'Lieutenant Witch' in the bullpen. I flinch too when I hear them. I hate sticking labels like that on people, and this one just isn't you. It's just that you choose to not make friends. You want to concentrate on your career and there is nothing at all wrong with that. But others only see you trying to "suck up" to the admiral like a teacher's pet.

You love taking nature photos, riding your motorbike, and spending time in the great outdoors, and that's why I think you'll love flying, since it's another outdoor activity, and you'll be able to take some great photos from the air. How am I doing so far?"

Loren had what looked like tears in her eyes as she looked at him. "You'd make a great psychologist." she smiled. "How did you know I like riding motorcycles?"

"I've seen you out and about on your bike on the weekends occasionally. So what's your story, Ms Singer?"

"I grew up the middle daughter of 3 sisters. My older sister is brilliant and she has a high IQ. She went to Yale University and John Hopkins Medical School, trained as a doctor, and then went on to do a PhD in Microbiology. She is now a Lecturer at John Hopkins Medical School. She was always Dad's favourite.

My younger sister came along 5 years after me and was always my mother's favourite. She now works for a renowned Publisher in New York City.

We all got high grades in school but now every time my older sister has an article published in a professional magazine, or my younger sister has a book published that wins an award, I get told about it and that gives me the message that I am not contributing anything of any worth to society.

I went to university on a Navy ROTC scholarship. After I graduated I went to OCS and then to Law School. I have to make something of myself, which is why I want to become the first female JAG."

Loren stopped talking as she ran out of things to say.

Harm paused in thought for a few moments before he spoke, "You've worked hard to get to where you are today. Very hard. Does your family know how well you've succeeded? Are you in contact with any of them?"

"No, I am not in contact with any of them. The last time I tried to telephone my parents they laughed at me. They said anyone can be a lawyer, and hung up on me. So why should I waste my energies trying? And I haven't gotten anywhere yet." Loren sniffed as she wiped her nose and her eyes.

She then squared her shoulders and looked him in the eyes, "Change of subject, Harm, I need another bathroom break, May I have some help, please?"

Harm was startled to note that the sun was already setting as he accompanied Loren to the outhouse. This time things became more awkward as she was having difficulty cleaning herself with one hand.

"Harm, this is really embarrassing and I wouldn't ask unless I really needed some help. Can you clean me up, please."

Harm's face went bright crimson as he took the newspaper and carefully wiped and cleaned Loren's derriere . He dropped the newspaper down the hole and stood by silently as she struggled to pull her underwear up with one hand. Her panties safely in place he again pulled up her skirt and then pulled up the zipper.

Silently they walked back to the cabin. Once back inside the silence became awkward, both were embarrassed. The intimate encounter had been too intimate and too recent for either of them to be able to feel comfortable in the other's company yet. Needing to re-establish some sort of buffer zone between her and Harm, Loren disappeared into the bedroom and sat down on the bed.

Berating himself for the flood of relief that washed over him as Loren disappeared into the bedroom, Harm set about starting a fire, and then putting a kettle of water on to boil. The cabin needed to be warmed up as the night drew closer.

_Gosh, that was awkward. I really wish my body didn't have to eliminate waste like that. Oh, God, This is probably gonna happen again tomorrow as well. I really wish it were Monday and we were back home already. And he stayed the perfect gentleman. His hands never once moved to my private area. And it's really not fair that he gets to see my body and I don't get to see his_. Loren thought as she lay down on the bed.

_But it was just so nice to be able to talk and get to know him on a personal level. And I can't believe he knows me so well. He's obviously been watching me. I wonder why?_

But even as she lay on the bed a stab of pain from her arm caused her to moan.

Harms thoughts were just as jumbled_. She has a beautiful body. She keeps it fit and healthy. She is smart, intelligent, and I'm pretty sure she has a sense of humour but she doesn't let that show. She reminds me so much of Mac, except she doesn't have that same controlling personality. If I'm not careful, I could end up falling in love with her. And I can't be in love with her - we're in the same chain of command._

Satisfied that the fire had caught, Harm grabbed a couple of pain pills and a cup of water and then and walked into the bedroom. Loren lay on the bed with her left arm over her face. There were no nightstands, and Harm wasn't about to just leave the pills on the bed next to Loren.

"Loren?" he asked. Loren took her arm off her face and looked up at him.

"How are you doing, pain wise? Do you want any pain pills?" He held them out.

"Yes actually, I am in some pain, Thank you Harm."

_Is he reading my mind now_? _How did he know I needed them?_

Loren struggled to sit up. Once she was sitting, she took the pills and swallowed them down with some water, and silently gave the cup back to Harm.

Harm turned to leave the room. Loren silently watched him walk away. He didn't smile, he didn't grin. He avoided looking at her. She desperately wanted the mood to change, but the embarrassment of her needing him to help her with something so personal and private was hurting them both. She desperately wanted, no, needed them to be able to get back to the place where they were before, where they were talking and getting to know each other.

At least he was still providing her with medical aid, but she still had no idea how the heck he had known she was in pain...

Harm decided that he would not sleep on the bed tonight. He was going to sleep on the couch. Sleeping on the bed next to her was just too awkward and embarrassing.

But first they needed to have dinner.

He filled one thermos flask with hot water and coffee, and the other with hot water and chocolate so she had a choice. Then he laid out some granola bars, yoghurt, chocolate, corn & tortilla chips and a bowl of dried fruit.

Looking at his watch he saw that the time was only 1700 but an early dinner would probably be good.

Harm walked back into the bedroom and softly called Loren's name.

Her blue eyes opened and she stared at him. She lifted an eyebrow.

"Dinner is ready, if you want something to eat?"

Loren nodded and once again she struggled to sit up.

Going against his personality, Harm did not offer to help her. He would not do so unless she actually asked for help. And as was normal for her personality, Loren did not ask.

They sat at the table and ate silently. The air hung between them thick with unspoken thoughts and emotions.

When Loren had had enough, she pushed her chair back and disappeared back into the bedroom.

Harm sighed. She most likely would not come out until the morning now.

Harm's thoughts wandered back over to that afternoon when things started getting awkward, when he was cleaning Loren up, back in the outhouse.

_She had called him in and was already in position where she was bent over the seat and a hand stretched behind her holding the newspaper. He only needed to take the newspaper, and clean out her derriere. He had one hand holding her hip and one buttock, while the other cleaned and wiped. Her gluteus maximus muscle had been firm and strong. It was clear that Loren looked after her body, ate healthily and exercised. When he had finished, he reached around her to drop the paper down the hole and then had backed out of the door. At no time did he see her front side. He had been called back in, a few minutes later, to pull up and zip her skirt._

_Cleaning a women up after the toilet and helping her get dressed was a very intimate and private thing to do. Usually something only nurses or spouses did. He was not a nurse but he did want to be a spouse. The question was - whose spouse?_

_Not Renee's, Definitely not Mac's. Not Annie's or Jordan's either._

_He was looking for a soulmate, someone with whom he had a lot in common, but he also knew that he didn't want someone who tried to control him. Not the way the previously mentioned women had tried to do. He also had never had very much in common with those same women. Not even with Mac, despite Harriet's constant interfering attempts at matchmaking._

_But Loren, was a surprise. So far he had discovered that she loved riding motorcycles, liked flying, possibly had a "need for speed" like he did. She also loved being outdoors and enjoying the beauty of the natural environment. _

_She was a good lawyer, an excellent researcher and if she ever deigned to reign in and control her ambition to "win at all costs" and instead aim for the truth, she could become a great lawyer._

Harm's thoughts kept him occupied until the time finally crawled around to 2000 hours, when he did his usual night time routine. He visited the outhouse, checked on Loren who was well wrapped up in the blanket and asleep on the bed, he banked the fire up with several logs, so that it would burn through the night, secured and locked the door and settled down on the couch, wearing an extra sweat shirt taken from his sea-bag in lieu of the blanket he didn't have.


	5. Chapter 5

**Day 4 – Sunday – 0430 – The Cabin**

At 0430 a loud scream shattered the silence and Harm woke up with a jerk. He rushed to the bedroom only to find it empty. Then he discovered the cabin door unlocked and open. Shoving his feet into his boots, he grabbed the flashlight and headed outside. He found Loren lying on the ground not far from the outhouse. She was sobbing to herself, and clearly in a lot of pain.

Harm slowly helped Loren to stand up.

"Huuuuuurts" she moaned. Her arm swung loosely. The sling was missing and the splints seemed to have come loose from the bandage.

"I know, Loren, I know it hurts. It's ok. No one is going to hurt you anymore." Harm whispered as he slowly guided her back into the cabin, closed and locked the door behind them and then helped Loren into the bedroom. She collapsed slowly onto the bed and then started crying.

Harm lay down on the bed beside her and wrapped his arms around her.

_Frat Regs be damned. She needs some emotional support. _

Wrapping the blanket around them both, it took half an hour for Loren to stop crying.

"Harm?" she whispered.

"Yes Loren, I'm here."

"I'm sorry. I needed to go the toilet and I thought I could do it on my own. But I still need your help. Now I've just made things worse."

"Were you on your way to the toilet or on your way back, when you fell over?" Harm asked.

"I was done and on my way back"

Harm relaxed and sighed.

"Ok then the next thing to do is for you to take some more Tylenol, and for me to re-bandage and re-splint your arm. It's going to hurt like hell again. Let's get you to take the pills now and we can do your arm later when the sun comes up."

Loren agreed, and after taking two Tylenol with water, the two of them huddled together on the bed and fell into a restless sleep.

**Day 4 – Sunday – The Cabin – 0830 **

When Harm was woken up four hours later, by Loren's moaning, he found himself lying full length on the bed with Loren huddled next to him all down his front. Nothing new about that. But this time Harm's arms were firmly wrapped around Loren.

"Harm?"

"Yes Loren?"

"I'm sorry about last night and yesterday. I was just so embarrassed by having to ask you to clean me up."

"I know. I'm sorry about being embarrassed as well. It makes it harder because I am not your nurse and I'm not your spouse and really those are the only two people who are entitled to perform such intimate actions like that. Anyway, enough of that. We need to rebandage your arm. Can you sit up?"

Harm helped Loren to sit up and the two of them moved to sit at the table. Harm popped outside for a few minutes to find two more smooth. strong slats to use as splints.

Loren found the next hour to be as painful an ordeal as she had yet experienced as Harm unbandaged her arm, and inspected it. Then he put the makeshift splints in place and rebandaged her arm. Once again he did his best to not knock the arm but it was unavoidable and again Loren was reduced to moaning in almost constant pain by the time he had finished. Again she sighed in relief when Harm finally placed the wrapped bandaged arm in a new sling.

Do you need to go to the toilet again?" Loren shook her head.

"Are you hungry?" Harm asked. Loren nodded her head.

"Do you think you can stay up to eat or do you want to go back to bed?"

"I'll eat first and then maybe lie down again. I am sorry for being stubborn."

"It's your nature to be stubborn, Loren. You wouldn't be you, if you weren't stubborn." Harm smiled.

"The first things that go into my sea-bag when I get home will be a pack of cards, an ipod and some books!" Loren muttered. "I need to be sure to take my own entertainment with me, no matter where I go."

Harm nodded as he unwrapped a granola bar and some chocolate for Loren to eat and poured a bowl of dried fruit.

"I need to take some more ashes from the fire and go out and redo the sign outside. Hopefully I won't be gone as long as most of the work is already done. If there is any new snow, I'll just need to stamp it down and lay down some new ash."

After breakfast was cleared away, Loren laid down on the couch while Harm shovelled more cold ash from the fire into a plastic bag and then went outside to redo the S-O-S sign. Fortunately it was another cool but fine day.

Loren's mind wandered back over the awkward events of yesterday afternoon. _It was only a few hours, but I really missed not being able to talk to him. He is just so easy to talk to. He treats me as an equal and I really needed those hugs this morning._

Harm's thoughts were just as chaotic as he stamped out the letters in the snow and laid down more ashes_. She is nowhere near being the ice queen and witch that Mackenzie claims her to be. Sure she is ambitious and driven, but there is nothing wrong with that. If she could just slow down a bit and take some time out for herself. She is a beautiful woman, very intelligent and tough-minded and I just want to wrap her in my arms and protect her from any more hurting. I would love to get to know her better, in a much more personal way._

When Harm returned from checking the SOS sign, he and Loren settled down in a much more relaxed atmosphere. Loren regaled Harm with stories of her childhood, and what it was like growing up with two sisters. Harm heard her out with keen interest and enjoyment, as an only child he had no experience of growing up in a home filled with children and had no basis for comparison of their different childhoods. In return he told Loren his somewhat grimmer story of spending three months as a teenager searching the jungles of South East Asia for his MIA father.

And then around lunch time, they heard an alien sound, a buzzing overhead. Harm dashed outside and spotted a small plane flying around. He waved and then watched as the plane circled overhead before it turned away towards the west, waggling its wings as it did so.

Waggling wings is a sign that the pilot has seen whomever is on the ground. Harm nodded with satisfaction and went back inside the cabin to tell Loren the good news.

"That was a small plane. Looked like a Piper or perhaps a Cessna. I think the pilot saw the sign so maybe he can get a search started." For the first time in three days, Loren and Harm had some hope to hold onto.

**Day 4 - Sunday – 1300 – NE Georgia**

James Thompson and his 18 year old daughter Elizabeth were in a small Piper flying around over North Eastern Georgia

"Dad?"

"Yes Lizzie?"

"What does JAG mean?"

"JAG?"

"Yes. There is a sign down there that says SOS, JAG and an arrow pointing to what looks like a cabin."

James banked and put the plane into a circle so he could see. As he did so a man emerged from under the roof and waved. James waggled the plane wings and headed back to the airfield.

"We need to report this in immediately. Note the longitude and latitude, please." Lizzie wrote down the approximate latitude and longitude.

James continued "There are several possible referrals to JAG but since this does not involve cars or animals, I'm going to go with military JAGs because it involves people."

"So, what is a JAG?" Lizzie asked again.

"JAG stands for Judge Advocate General. They are the top lawyers for the Army, Navy and the Airforce. It is possible that the man I saw down there, works for one of them. I just to have to find out which one."

"So why does that man not save himself?"

"He's probably got an injured person or people with him and they cannot be moved. I wonder how long he's been there?"

**Day 4 – Sunday – 1400 - Gainesville Airfield **

Upon landing at the local airfield, James went to the office of the airport manager and reported what he and Lizzie had seen. "I'd like to report seeing an SOS sign up in the hills. The sign was stamped out in snow, it said SOS and JAG and had an arrow pointing to what looked like a cabin. There is at least one able bodied man in there. But I'd say that he didn't try to save himself because he has injured people with him"

"What is JAG?" asked the airport manager.

"That means Judge Advocate General - probably means the man is a lawyer for one of the military forces and I need to find out which one."

"Which one?"

"Yes, Army, Air Force or Navy. They each have their own Legal office and lawyers."

"Well, you start calling around the military while I try and scare up a SAR team. It's Sunday - not going to be easy."

An hour later the clouds rolled in and within two hours another snow storm had started. By then James Thompson and his daughter were back at their home in Gainesville, where James continued making calls throughout the afternoon and evening.

He had no idea who to call or even where to start calling. Since he had been an Army officer himself, he decided to start there. He called Fort Bragg - the closest Army base to his home and asked to speak to the JAG office.

"I'm sorry sir, The JAG office is only open weekdays - Monday through Friday." the soldier on the telephone explained. "You'll have to call back tomorrow."

James hung up. He called the Airport manager.

"Damn snowstorm." the Manager muttered. "I can't do anything until this storm moves on. But as you say, they are in a cabin, So they have some shelter at least. They are going to have to hang on for one more night. I hope this storm blows itself out overnight. But I can assure you I will be all over this tomorrow morning. You keep calling the JAGs and find out who has lost a lawyer."

**Day 4 – Sunday – 1400 - Back at the Cabin **

When the storm rolled in, and it started snowing, Harm and Loren knew that there would not likely be any rescue that day. But at least someone knew where they were and the message would get out - although probably not until after this storm blew itself out. The sign at least, had done its job. With their hopes now renewed, Harm re-started the fire in order to keep the cabin as warm as possible.

**Day 4 - Sunday - 1800 – The Cabin**

It was a long slow and cold afternoon and evening as the time crawled by so slowly. It was not that Loren and Harm were still embarrassed by earlier events, it was just that they had run out of things to say that could safely be said in public. All the thoughts running through their heads now, would most definitely violate the UCMJ if they were to be voiced.

"Harm, I really need to go to the toilet again, and it's gonna be a number two again, and there is a storm blowing around outside." Loren spoke up but was unsure how Harm would take this. She needn't have worried.

Harm stood up and grinned. "Well, if you gotta go, then you gotta go. Best to get this over with before it gets any darker. We need to wrap ourselves up warmly."

He checked that the fire was burning and filled the kettle with water and set it on the ashes to bring to a boil. Harm checked that Loren had on a warm sweatshirt and a jacket on - doing it up as best as possible with one sleeve hanging loose. Harm shrugged himself into his jacket and together they moved outside and around the cabin to the outhouse.

Loren was no longer embarrassed. After completing her business, she gave Harm the newspaper and asked him to clean her up. Once again his hands were holding her hips and her derriere, as he gently wiped her clean. Harm helped her to pull up and do up her clothes and together they moved back to the cabin.

Once the water had boiled, Harm made some more hot chocolate for both of them and laid out some food for their dinner.

**Day 4 – Sunday – 2000 – The Cabin**

They went to bed at the normal time after Loren had taken some more pain pills. Harm did his normal routine and then they both settled down to sleep on the bed. Harm wrapped Loren first in the blanket and then in his arms. He was not going to become intimate with her - but she did need some emotional support, despite how well she was holding up. The last three days had been long and difficult for her. Harm was not surprised at how well she was doing. She was showing great strength of character - something that Harm admired very much and had always suspected she had in abundance.

The wind howled loudly outside and the snow on the ground grew deeper and deeper, completely obliterating Harm's SOS sign.


	6. Chapter 6

**Day 5 - Monday - 0802 Navy JAG HQ - Falls Church - Virginia**

"Attention on deck!" Petty Officer Tiner shouted as Admiral Chegwidden walked through the conference room door. His eyes quickly scanned the room and he was not even half way to his seat before he stopped and snapped out. "Has anyone seen Rabb or Singer?"

Imes, Mackenzie, Brumby, Roberts and Turner all shook their heads.

"They better have a damn good reason for not being here. Roberts!"

"Yes, Sir?" Roberts sat up to attention in his chair.

"I want you to call Pensacola NAS and find out when Rabb and Singer left the VOQ, how they left and by what mode of transport. Find out how they planned to return to DC. I told them to be here by 0800 Monday and it is past that now."

"Yes, sir!" Lieutenant Roberts gathered up his files and scurried out of the conference room to get started on his search.

**Day 5 - Monday - 0905 - Gainesville Airfield, Georgia**

The snowstorm had blown itself out by midnight so Monday was another beautiful clear cool day.

The airport manager called the local Search and Rescue team, "We have a report of an SOS sign up in the hills yesterday just before that snowstorm rolled in". He gave the latitude and longitude. " There is also a report that there is one able bodied man waiting for rescue. The fact that he didn't try to save himself probably means he has injured people with him."

"How did you learn about this?"

"One of my clients was out flying with his daughter yesterday. They spotted an SOS sign in the hills."

"So what exactly did the sign say - just SOS?"

"Nope, it said SOS and JAG. My client thinks he works for a military JAG office. He is calling around to try and find the right one."

"Tell him not to worry. I know how to contact all the JAGs. I'll take care of it. And we will fly out there and see what we can do."

"Thank you!" The manager hung up with relief. That was two things less he needed to worry about.

**Day 5 - Monday - 0930 - NAVY JAG HQ - Falls Church - Virginia**

Lieutenant Roberts approached Petty Officer Tiner asking to speak to the Admiral. He was admitted to the inner office.

"Well, Mr Roberts. Do you have anything?"

"Yes sir. Commander Rabb and Lieutenant Singer hired a rental car and were intending to drive back to DC. They picked a car up in Pensacola on Thursday morning and planned to drop it off in DC on Saturday night but they never showed up. The trouble is that they could have taken any number of routes between there and here and we don't know which route they took."

"Get a description of the car and the plate registrations if you know them, to all police stations and Naval and Marine Corps bases between here and Pensacola."

"Yes Sir"

**Day 5 - Monday - 1030 - NAVY JAG HQ - Falls Church - Virginia**

Chegwidden grabbed the phone and growled. "Hello?"

"Hey AJ, This is General Jonathan Smith at the Air Force JAG office. There's a rumour flying around down in Georgia of some lost JAGs. Have you lost any staff?"

"Oh God! Yes I have two missing officers. Last seen in Pensacola on Thursday morning, getting a rental car and planning to drive back to DC. They have not been seen or heard from since Thursday. What have you heard?"

"An SOS and JAG sign stamped in the snow - with what looks like ashes from a fire to make it stand out - in the hills north east of Atlanta. They are in a cabin. The man seems to be OK. He was seen outside the cabin waving at the small plane when it flew over. He clearly hasn't left the cabin and we're guessing that he probably has an injured person with him.

The Admiral visibly collapsed in relief over his desk as he held the phone to his ear.

"Rabb and Singer. So if Rabb is OK then it must be Singer who is injured. Who do I call to get some details?"

"I have a name, James Thompson in Gainesville, North of Atlanta. Phone number is - 555-6324. Good luck." The General rang off.

**Monday - Day 5 - 1100 - Gainesville, Georgia.**

"Hello?"

"May I speak to Mr James Thompson, Please?"

"Speaking:

"Mr Thompson. My name is AJ Chegwidden. I am a Navy Lawyer and the US Navy JAG. I have two officers missing today and I have just been told that you apparently spotted an SOS and JAG sign in the hills somewhere?"

"Yes Sir. My daughter and I were out flying yesterday before the snow storm rolled in. She spotted a sign stamped out in snow that said SOS and underneath that it said JAG and then an arrow pointing to a cabin. While we were overhead, a man came out of the cabin and waved. He seemed to be walking fine. I waggled my wings to let him know we had seen him and then flew back to the airfield. Sir, would he know what waggling wings means?"

"Yes, Mr Thompson, he knows what waggling wings means. He is a pilot himself. We need to get there ASAP. The only reason he would not have left that cabin is because his partner is injured, otherwise they would both have tried to walk out. Did you mark the location?"

James passed on the latitude and longitude coordinates. "Sir, we had another storm blow through last night. That sign might be obliterated by now."

"Rabb will make another one, if he can and if he thinks it's necessary. You can be sure of that. In the meantime we will get a Search and Rescue team out to these coordinates ASAP. Thank you so much for your help."

"You're welcome, Sir, and I am glad I could help."

**Day 5 - Monday - 1400 - The cabin**

The atmosphere in the cabin was much lighter that day when Loren and Harm woke up. Because today they knew they had been seen, their sign had been seen and the SAR would arrive - hopefully sometime today.

They sat at the breakfast table and helped themselves to dried fruit and the last of the yoghurt.

Loren wandered back to the bedroom muttering something about getting dressed again into some more clean clothes.

"Call me if you need any help" Harm grinned.

Harm put his boots on and went outside to see if he needed to redo his sign. The area was totally smoothed over with white snow. He spent the next two hours redoing the SOS and JAG signs plus the arrow pointing to the cabin.

It was not until almost 1400 before a helicopter was heard overhead.

It stopped and hovered over the sign and then landed. Harm walked over to the helo.

"Are you Commander Rabb?"

"Yes, I am." Harm replied.

"Sir, I'm Major Wilcox from Parris Island. We're here to take you back to PI and then get you back to DC. Is your partner injured?

"Yes she is"

"How badly?"

"Fortunately it's only a broken arm - but it was enough to cause her some problems."

"Can she walk to the helo, Sir?"

"Yes, she can do that, Major"

"Then, unless you have any other ideas, let's get out of here, Sir!"

"Sounds like a plan to me, Major! I'll go get her."

Loren and Harm grabbed their sea-bags, the first aid kit, flashlight, the blanket and the remains of the food, and walked to the helo. After loading up their stuff, they carefully climbed up into their seats.

As the helo rose in the air, Loren looked out at the miles and miles of green forest and marveled at the right choices Harm had made. If they had tried to walk out, they could have easily gotten lost wandering around in circles

Loren tucked her memories of this solitude time away in the depths of her memory. It would be too dangerous to access and she wanted to remember this precious and wonderful time. A time when she healed physically and emotionally and when she was finally treated as an equal for the first time in her life. Loren knew she would have to go back to being the Ice Queen at JAG, but that was for her own protection. But now she knew there was one person at JAG who supported her.

Harm locked his memories of this solitude time away in the depths of his memory. It had been wonderful getting to know Lieutenant Singer, a precious time and memory he would always treasure.


End file.
